Aiding And Abetting
by Redtailedfox
Summary: Kitty is a cat-human hybrid, who, along with her friend/partner, Stephanie, carries out missions for the School. But when the Director assigns them, and an unusually tempered Eraser, the mission of capturing Maximum Ride, what will happen?
1. Chapter 1

A.N. Disclaimer- I do not own Maximum Ride.

I twisted my neck around and flashed a pointy toothed grin in Stephanie's direction. I could tell from her slight scowl that she had caught the expression, but otherwise she was completely impassive. Well, maybe not completely. Her silvery gold-green eyes were starting to take on a dangerous sheen that I had seen all too often in the gaze of an Eraser, and her face was hard and still, but her lips twitched slightly, as if she was fighting back the urge to snarl. Her body leaned forward ever so slightly, like a swimmer preparing to leap into the pool. She was locked on her target, utterly intent.

The target. Right. I let my eyes wander away from Stephanie, wander towards the bird-girl that the scientists at the School had requested that we bring back- alive. She was sitting alone on the park bench, her shoulders hunched forward, revealing the bulge of folded wings under her heavy jacket. Her thin neck was bent forward, as if she couldn't even support the weight of her head and hair. Her palms rested on her knees, her fingers kneading the fabric of her jeans. She was fourteen years of age, and apparently she had escaped out of sheer luck, a lapse of security on the part of the Erasers. This was why the scientists had sent us, not them.

Stephanie made a motion with her left hand, and for a second I stared at it, briefly confused, before she rolled her eyes, breaking out of killer mode for a split second, a propelled me forward with a shove to my back. I stumbled forward, hint taken, and began to walk towards the bird-girl as we had planned. I reached her within a minute or so, and tapped her on the shoulder. She looked up, startled, and I gave what I assumed to be a reassuring smile, running my hands through my blond hair to reveal cream colored cat ears. Her eyes widened with understanding, and I could easily see her arriving at the wrong conclusion. Which was good.

"Can I sit down?" I asked, moving around to the front of the bench.

She nodded as a way of answer, her eyes fixated unnervingly on mine.

I gave another smile, and sat down beside her, drinking in the heat from her body as it radiated off from her in waves.

A few meters behind me I heard Stephanie beginning to move in, and hastily began to make conversation with the bird-girl to distract her. "You're from the school, right?"

A nod.

Conversation- bad. "Same. What's your name?"

A frown. "I don't know."

Answer- good. Conversation- atrocious. But seriously, how was I supposed to know she didn't know her name. While I was searching for something else to say, she surprised me by asking a question of her own.

"Do you have a name?"

"Kitty." I had given it to myself.

That seemed to be a good answer; the bird-girl gave a wry, but genuine smile. "That's interesting. And your part cat, right?"

I felt Stephanie a few feet behind me. "Yeah."

Stephanie was only a foot away now, and her body was trembling, preparing to spring. I turned to the bird-girl, holding her gaze for a second, before grabbing her by the throat and twisting around so that I was sitting on top of her. I could see the emotions flitting across her face with such ease, it was almost comical. Shock, confusion, betrayal, hurt, panic, predominantly. Although I really wasn't choking her very hard, her survival mechanism seemed to kick into gear and she lashed out with punches, that, although badly aimed, still _hurt._ Hissing, I dropped her and she bolted upright, tearing off her jacket and spreading open her tan feathered wings.

I swore, and let my claws slide out and bunched up my legs, my tail, which had come out during the struggle, lashing wildly. But Stephanie was already one step ahead of me. She had been ready for something like this; apparently she hadn't put much stock in my ability to subdue bird-girl. Stupid birds. She sprang into the air, and tackled bird-girl. Both of them fell to the ground. Stephanie gave a rabid snarl, pinning bird-girls hands to the ground. Bird-girl thrashed desperately like a mad woman and Stephanie released her hand for a second to free her own fist. Stephanie knocked bird-girl out in one swift motion, and a flood of relief-induced endorphins flowed into my bloodstream at Stephanie's victory.

Stephanie stood up, and pulled the cell phone out of her back pocket, speed dialing the Erasers that had been posted nearby.

"Yes." A pause. "Mission complete." A short pause. "Thank you." A longer pause, and Stephanie bent down to check bird-girl' pulse. "Yes." A rather forced smile on the part of Stephanie and she answered "Of course." She lowered the phone, turning it off, before turning to me.

I smiled nervously and Stephanie sighed. "You're useless, you know," she said almost fondly.

I frowned.

"The scientists say 'good work', though," Stephanie added, and my frown instantly vanished.


	2. Chapter 2

The Erasers arrived about ten minutes after Stephanie ended the call, pulling up in a sleek, yet undoubtedly lethal car. A scientist was with them, and although she wasn't wearing a lab coat, her evilly intelligent gaze was betrayed her. A few Erasers stepped out of the car, dwarfing her and I reconsidered. She was human. And although the Erasers currently looked like male-models, I could tell that they were definitely not. There was something under the surface, below those attractive features, something that reeked of savageness and death. I had compared Stephanie to an Eraser, but seeing them now, Stephanie, even a snarling, animalistic Stephanie seemed like a playful puppy dog. I was suddenly very glad that I work for the School, not against them.

An Eraser with thick black hair stooped down and scooped up bird-girl as if she weighed nothing and passed her to the scientist, who lay her down on the grass and shone a light in her eyes. "Pupil dilation looks normal," the scientist murmured, as if to herself. She slipped the light into her pocket, and raised the bird-girls limp wrist, presumably checking her pulse.

The black-haired Eraser waved a hand in front of my face, and my attention was instantly redirected towards dangerous wolf-man.

I faced him, assuming what I hoped was a respectful posture, trying not to recoil. He smelled _bad_ for one thing, like a wild animal, and his sheer size alone was impressive, making me feel tiny. "Yes?" I asked politely, trying to add an undertone of deference.

From the expression on the Eraser's face, part annoyed, part amused, I had obviously not succeeded. "What happened here?" he asked, skipping over formalities, though he sounded relatively calm and stable, at least not about to rip my head off.

"I thought Stephanie told you guys," I replied, hastily adding, "sir."

He grinned, showing off eyeteeth that I knew he could easily morph into fangs.

I swallowed, and my claws instinctively came out, and although I knew from personal experience that they were sharp and lethal, I also knew that if the Eraser decided to kill me, my claws would perhaps delay my death five minutes.

Laughter shocked me from my morbid thoughts, and I looked up, a flush coming to my cheeks. The black-haired Eraser was laughing at me! I frowned, slightly relieved that he found me so amusing, but annoyed at the same time.

"I'm sorry," he apologized, resuming an air of cool professionalism with ease, all traces of humor evaporating into the air like water droplets falling on a car heated by the noon sun. "And no, your partner, Stephanie," he pronounced her name oddly, almost curiously, "only call to communicate your success. Congratulations by the way."

"Thanks," I said. "And bird-girl, er, the target didn't really put up much of a fight."

"'Really'?" the Eraser asked, picking up on the word.

I flushed again pulled my claws in and out. "She was sort of strong," I muttered, "I underestimated her, that's all."

"Nothing… unusual about her, then?" the Eraser asked.

I frowned, confused. "Huh?"

The Eraser locked eyes with me for a second, before cocking his head, a slightly puzzled expression forming over his features. "Never mind."

From the ground beside us, the scientist raised her hand. With a start, I realized I had nearly forgotten about her, and the bird-girl still unconscious beside her. "She's fine," the scientist said, "And if she had any connections to the others, I'm certain we'll be able to find out."

The Eraser nodded to the scientist. "Put her in the car," he ordered and the other two Erasers that had come with him and the scientist picked up the bird-girl and opened up the trunk of the car, and flung her inside, slamming the trunk door down over her.

"Careful," the scientist chastised lightly, standing up.

The black-haired Eraser turned back to me and inclined his head towards the car. "Get inside, you two," he said. For a second I was confused. You _two._ Oh. Stephanie. Right. I blushed for the third time in the last ten minutes and spun around melodramatically, taking hold of Stephanie's hand and dragging her towards the backseat door of the car despite her protests. Flinging open the door I realized that one of the two seats in the very back was already occupied. Stephanie's hand slipped out of mine, and before I could accuse her of mutiny, she was in the front of the car sitting beside the driver's seat. I sighed heavily.

Sitting behind an evil scientist and an Eraser while sitting beside an Eraser with an unconscious bird-girl in the trunk the car was, despite what some may think, not the most pleasurable experience in my life. Quite the contrary actually. The scientist was worse than the black-haired Eraser, shooting off questions about the bird-girl at a rapid-fire pace. When she finally realized that I couldn't give her the exact length of time it took for the bird-girl's wings to expand to maximum length, of the amount of time it took before she was able to process that I was a threat, she went on to asking questions about me. I took these questions a bit more seriously; I worried that if I couldn't give her the answers she might just get a bit too curious and try to find out herself. Fortunately, after a couple of questions about my daily calorie intake, she seemed to grow bored and fell silent. Unfortunately, I only had a few seconds the process the new quiet before I realized that my conversation with the scientist had distracted me from the Erasers that were in unnervingly close proximity to me. The black-haired Eraser was driving, and it was a shame, too, because although he had intimated me, at least I hadn't been terrified. The other Erasers terrified me. They didn't speak, but their foul scent radiated off of them like a cloud of poison, and every so often one would stare at me, a hungry glint in his eyes.


	3. Chapter 3

I could honestly say that that car ride had been one of the most unpleasant experiences in my life. We had been on the highway for over three hours. That was three hours of feeling like a slab of meat in front of a pack of wolves, two traffic jams, and one unfortunate incident to the gas station. Although the occupants of the car were undoubtedly writhing with Kitty-blame, I hold fast to the fact that it was in no possible way my fault. How could it have been? We stopped at the gas station and I had practically flown from the Eraser infested car to 'stretch my legs' and breathe in air that was pure human/gasoline/alcohol/cigarette smoke/burned rubber goodness. I may have also stretched out my claws and tail a bit as well, but sitting on your butt for three hours straight hurts, especially if you have a furry, sensitive tail attached to your behind, via genetic tampering. And when a man in his thirties with a convertible and a bad temper getting gas shouted at me and called me a freak, I may not have reacted with grace. When I learned that sticking out my tongue and showing off my ears, tail, and claws to the fullest only provoked him into a demeanor that people tend to reserve for riots and angry mobs, I probably should have retreated to the relative safety of the car and the super-strong Erasers lurking within. I should _not_ have snarled and attempted to decapitate him with my claws. In the end, however, the black-haired Eraser probably saved my life. Although a cat-girl will tend to drive people to mob mentalities, a muscular man going into half-morph will tend to drive them in the opposite direction. Quite literally. With a speed usually only accomplished in NASCAR and car chases the man took his car and sped off into the distance, leaving us with only a dust cloud as a fond reminder of our short but memorable time together. And then I suddenly wished that I had been driving with him. I couldn't read the expression on the black-haired Erasers face, which was probably because his eyes were red tinted, his teeth big and pointy, and his features were most decidedly wolflike. However I guessed that whatever he was feeling, it probably wasn't pro-Kitty. More like pro-bludgeon-Kitty-to-death. But with a self-control that I assumed was extraordinary, let alone for an Eraser, he didn't say a word, but demorphed himself and resumed his position in the driver's seat. Although the car windows were tinted, giving me the illusion of privacy on the outside, you could see clearly from inside, and when I got back into the car the other two Erasers chortled, which told me that they had not only been watching, they had been watching intently. Resisting the urge to blush- or scream I sat down and crossed my arms over my chest, staring at the floor.

So anyway. 

From the front end of the car, I heard Stephanie give a loud, obvious sigh.

I grunted and slouched down, my body contorting into a position that set my tail on _fire_ and I bit back a whimper of pain as I reassumed my previous position. From the driver's seat, the black-haired Eraser snapped the door shut and pushed the car into motion, causing me to fly forwards, then back. My neck hit the seat with a worryingly loud _thump_, and I groaned, a string of colorful phrases coming to my lips.

The black-haired Eraser twisted his head around, a simultaneously dangerous and remarkable feat, since he was currently speeding down the highway at around seventy miles per hour. "Are you okay?" he asked, his eyes scanning me, presumably assessing for damages. He seemed vaguely concerned, which, I suppose sort of made sense. After all, I was a cat-girl. If I died on his watch, he would be _dead_ in a week.

"Fine," I grunted. "Please watch the road." The last part I tacked on slightly reluctantly, I was unused and uncomfortable with the notion of giving orders, even suggestions to Erasers.

He narrowed his eyes slightly, but he didn't seem angry. He gave a short nod of assent and turned around, facing the windshield/road.

It was Stephanie's turn to stare at me as if I had gone insane. She shook her head slightly, warning against any further commentary with the Eraser. Her gold-green eyes widened, locking on mine pointedly, her gaze intense. She mouthed something, and although I'm exactly sure what it was, I can probably safely assume that it was something along the lines of _'be quiet and stay still'_. Rolling my eyes, I turned my head away, instead looking out the window at the highway which was gradually giving way to trees and a rural looking landscape.

I opened my mouth to ask if we were there yet, but remembered Stephanie's non-verbal warning and decided not to speak. The Eraser next to me snickered slightly. I eyed him curiously.

"Cat got your tongue?" he asked, obviously under the impression that he was, in fact, very funny. His eyes glittered like spilled blood.

I wasn't sure if he wanted an answer or not, but I decided to give him one, just to be safe. Talking out of turn was probably less dangerous than ignoring an Eraser, in any case. "Sort of." Silly answer, but the Eraser seemed satisfied anyhow. He turned and tapped the scientist on the shoulder.

"Mm?" she looked up.

"We almost there?"

She glanced out the window, before turning back. "I think so."

Every occupant in the car let out a sigh of relief.

We arrived at the school within a few short minutes. I exited the car, a bit less hastily then I had at the gas station, and stretched out, letting out my tail and lifting my arms above my head. I sighed with pleasure, and then turned around back to the car.

The scientist and the other two Erasers were busy lifting bird-girl from the trunk of the car. She was still unconscious, which was vaguely surprising. I supposed that the scientist must have put a tranquilizer in her. I turned back towards the school. It really didn't look like a super-secret, super-evil lab. It looked more like some type of private business. It was rather large, but not very tall, and sprawled out against the surrounding grass like a silver stain.

The other two Erasers, the scientist, Stephanie, and the limp form of bird-girl were almost halfway to the school, leaving me alone with the car and the black-haired Eraser who was pulling out the keys from the ignition and shutting the car door, stepping outside. His eyes flashed between me and the scientist/animal-human-hybrid party quickly making their way towards the school's front door. Actually, they were pretty much there. He rolled his eyes. "Think you should get going?" he asked dryly.

My tail lashed a bit as I gave a grimace, and he reached out, catching it. "Hey!" I shouted. It didn't hurt or anything, but it was _weird_.

He ignored me and started walking forward, tugging on my tail to get me moving. I ran a bit, catching up with him. "My tail…" I murmured feebly.

He released it, continuing to walk. I followed him. Stephanie and the others were already inside the school, and by the time we reached the entrance and entered, I couldn't see them anywhere in sight. I inwardly cursed and turned back to the black-haired Eraser helplessly. "What do I do?" I asked.

He shrugged. "You can probably relax," he offered.

I grinned as a way of showing my thanks.

He reached out a hand, and I stared at it a second, before clasping my hand in his.

"Riley," he offered.

"Kitty."


	4. Chapter 4

A.N. You know how many Mary Sue tests there are online? I've just scratched the surface in taking them constantly today.

"So where were you?"

"Huh?" I looked up, opening my eyes, and found myself staring up at Stephanie's disapproving face.

"Where," she paused, glowering at me, "were… you?" she asked again, pulling out her words to ridiculous lengths.

"What do you mean?" I cried, throwing myself into a sitting position on my bed.

Stephanie rolled her eyes and plopped herself beside me, except she accomplished that feat much more gracefully then I did. "You didn't come into the School with me and the rest of us."

Oh. "Us?" I sneered, trying to deflect the question. "When are Erasers _us_?"

Stephanie stared at me for a second, and her lips turned up into a cruel smile. "I don't know," she said, her voice and eyes calculating, "You tell me. The last I saw of you was you talking with that black-haired Eraser."

"So? He was reminding me that I should've gone."

"Right." Stephanie rolled her eyes. "So it's not like you like him or anything?"

I opened my mouth to answer, but she cut me off, and by the sound of her voice, she was moving in for the kill.

"It's not like you were turning red whenever he looked at you," she said, her voice teasing and playful, but hard at the same time, "It's not like it was your butt he saved at the gas station."

I gagged. "N-no. I mean yes! He helped me out at the gas station, so what?"

Stephanie stood up, and stared down at me for a second, before moving to her bed and lying down. "So nothing, Kitty," she said, and her voice was suddenly soft, and very tired. Well, she hadn't slept in over a twenty hours. "It's your business who you like."

Like? She was _so_ wrong. I didn't _like_ the Eraser. Riley. I mean, I liked him, I just didn't _like _like him. But he was different then the other Erasers. He was less… vicious? I really couldn't put my finger on it. But it was there. I think. But that didn't mean I liked him! Sure, he was attractive. All Erasers were. Even those other Erasers in the car! But I didn't like those Erasers! No WAY. I groaned, and did a face plant on my pillow. "I hate this!" I screamed, but the pillow muffled my voice.

"Kitty."

I detached myself from my pillow to look at Stephanie. "Erasers are dangerous," she said, her eyes locking on to mine, her tone dead serious. "They are unnatural. Bloodthirsty. I'm telling you this as a friend. Stay away from him." Her eyes seemed to glow.

I forced a grin. "Relax," I laughed, "I don't like him. And I know what Erasers are. Hello? Have you forgotten who we work for?"

Stephanie studied me for another second, and I saw on her face that she wasn't quite persuaded. But after a minute she seemed to look relatively convinced. "Alright," she said at last. "Alright. I trust you."

Terrific. Guilt. But I gave a smile, rolling over and burying myself into my sheets. "Thanks."

I closed my eyes trying to force myself to go to sleep. It seemed to be working. But right on the border of dreams and reality, I heard Stephanie murmur, "Yeah."


	5. Chapter 5

The next morning started out normally or, at least normally for me. I slept in late, so when I woke up Stephanie was already gone, her bed neat and tidy. Apart from scent, there was no visible proof that Stephanie had actually been here at all. Her side of the room was shipshape. No clothes lying around, no crushed aluminum soda bottles, nothing at all, like, say, _my _side of the room. I wasn't a slob, exactly, just really, _really_ lazy. What was the point of cleaning out an itty bitty room anyway? It's not like there were bugs. Oh, no. This was the School. 110% clean and sterile. There probably wasn't a bug in a thousand meter radius. So cleaning was fairly redundant. After a few minutes of the same feverish denial, I decided to go into the Lab.

The lab wasn't really a lab per say, it was just me and Stephanie's nickname for where the experiments resided at the school. Hybrids not so favored by the scientists. The thing is, although Stephanie and I, along with, I supposed, the Erasers, belonged to the School, and were utterly at their mercy, we actually had it pretty good. We had a room, and apart from doing a couple of mission now and then, the scientists pretty much left us alone. Sort of boring, maybe, but painless. Which was more then I could say for the unlucky hybrids in the Lab. Although by this point I was pretty much immunized against the horrors that took place at the School, every now and then I'd come across an experiment that made me shudder from ears to tail. Today, however, was relatively mild. I walked past white hallways, dying hybrids and several scientists that knew me well enough to give me a nod as means of greeting.

When one of the scientists, a fairly tall, fairly young blond man tugged on my arm, my metaphoric hackles raised. He ignored me, and pulled out a photograph from inside of his lab coat and showed it to me. The photograph was slightly grainy, and the date on the bottom of the photo said that it had been taken the day before yesterday, at midnight. Six children, three girls, three boys, their ages probably ranging from about six to fifteen were huddled together. One of the boys, an older one, with dark hair looked pretty cute. The little boy was laughing stupidly and playing with the little girl's jacket sleeve, but the rest of the group looked rather solemn. The dark haired boy looked sort of emo, the little blond children looked a bit silly. I couldn't really get a feel for the curly haired girl or the older blond boy, but the oldest girl, with dark blond hair gave off a distinct air of authority. She had a look in her eyes too, a fierce, almost cruel glint that was visible even in the poor lighting and badly taken photo. I disliked her on the spot.

I glanced up at the scientist. "Who are they?"

"Avian human hybrids." It wasn't the scientist that had spoken, but a voice behind me. I turned my head slightly. Eraser Riley. Remembering what Stephanie had said yesterday night, I flushed and averted my gaze.

My cheeks blazing hot I asked, "What?"

"Human bird mix," Riley explained, looking at me as if I had lost my mind. "They escaped from the school a few years ago." He paused and a funny expression crossed his face, a mix of annoyance and embarrassment. "We recaptured a few of them, but the rest of their-"

"Herd," I interrupted, "No wait, herd is for horses-"

"It doesn't really matter. What matters is that their lovely little friends helped them break out again." Riley looked extremely bitter. Funny, I thought dogs, and wolves, were supposed to hate cats worse than birds. Stephanie certainly seemed to.

"Do Stephanie and I…?" I let my sentence trail off. I wasn't sure how to describe what Stephanie and I did, apart from kidnap and fight.

The scientist this time was the one to respond. He gave a quick negative shake of his head. "No," he said, "I only wanted to know if you'd caught a glimpse of them when you were out recapturing that other hybrid. They were in the area."

'_And if she had any connections to the others, I'm certain we'll be able to find out.'_

'_Nothing… unusual about her, then?'_

I stared at Riley. "That's what you meant," I gasped.

He grinned wickedly. "Maybe."

I frowned at him, and then expanded my expression to the scientist as well. "You know that it probably would have helped if you'd had explained this to me beforehand," I commented, trying not to sound sulky.

Riley smiled, while the scientist scowled. "Maybe," he admitted, though it sounded hard for him to get the words out. "Did you see them?" he repeated, gesturing to the photograph still in my hand.

I stared at it once more, and couldn't help sneering at the Leader-looking one. "No," I said, looking at the scientist. "Who's she?"

The scientist frowned at the girl. "Their self-stylized 'leader'."

Ha-ha! I was right!

He continued, still looking at the photo. "Her name is Maximum Ride."

"What kind of name is that?"

He shrugged. "I think she gave it to herself. She's fourteen."

Riley caught my gaze. "And apparently very special," he said a bit too seriously.

I snickered, before remembering Stephanie's warning.

'_Erasers are dangerous. They are unnatural. Bloodthirsty. I'm telling you this as a friend. Stay away from him.'_

I ducked my head down and faced the scientist. "Do you mind if I go?" I asked demurely, avoiding Riley's bewilderment.

The scientist looked at me, then at the photograph, then at Riley, then at me again. It was fairly comical. "Actually, no," he said. "I need you to do me a favor."

Favor. Right. "What is it?"

"I need you to talk to the hybrid you and your partner captured. Ask her about the Maximum girl and her friends."

"Can't you or the Erasers do that?" I complained.

"No. We can't get through. But you might. She might lower her guard around you."

"She did that once," I rebuked, remembering the scene at the park. "And I tried to strangle her. I think she's learned her lesson. Maybe Stephanie could…."

"The decision has already been made," the scientist said coldly. He pulled the photograph from my hands and I bit back a protest. "She's in B-block. Cell number 56."

"Yes, sir," I murmured.

His lips twitched up; in a gesture of what I supposed was approval. Then he marched off.

I slumped slightly. "That son of a-"

"Don't worry," Riley said, and I glanced at him quizzically. "It can't hurt."

"It's probably going to hurt real bad."

"What? I don't think the scientists are going to do-"

"Not the scientists!" I shrieked, earning some odd looks from passing scientists. "_Her._" I shuddered. "I attacked her and brought her back to nightmare land. She's going to kill me."

Riley made a sound in his throat that I couldn't identify. It might have been a snort. Or a muffled laugh. Or a cough. "I can come with you if you want," he offered, "I don't think it would really hurt it I skipped training."

My eyes flickered briefly down to his arms. They were covered in lean, but hard and defined muscles and yeah. He didn't really look like he needed training. I shook my head, getting another strange look. "Um, no, its fine. You might freak her out."

Riley looked at me doubtfully but nodded. "Alright. Good luck."


	6. Chapter 6

B-Block. Cell number 56. I paused in front of the clear Plexiglas door, hesitating for a second. Bird-girl was huddled in the corner of the bare cell, her back to the door. Even from behind the door her scent was strong enough to leak out towards me. She smelled of stale fear. Well, great. Taking in a deep breath, I placed my thumb on the finger-print scanner in the center of the door. It shone, briefly green and the door clicked open. Bird-girl spun around and I slipped into the room, shutting the door before she got any funny (reasonable) ideas and tried to escape. Fortunately bird-girl was still sitting on the floor, her expression pained and hopeless. The bright florescent lights above gave her face a pasty hue, and the harshness of the lights was not kind to her tangled mess of hair, either.

Her eyes, a rather attractive shade of pale blue, flickered up to meet me, and her face contorted with anger as she recognized me as the one responsible for her current predicament. Her eyes flashed and she stood up, taking a step towards me.

Great. I wasn't very tall to begin with; I could politely be described as petite, or impolitely described as short. Bird-people on the other hand happened to be freakishly tall. Bird-girl probably had about a foot on me. My claws shoot out and I quickly placed my hands behind my back. "Hi," I said lamely.

Bird-girl snarled, and I suddenly wished that I had taken up Riley's offer. "You," she growled, low and furious.

I gave a half-hearted smile. "Please, no bad feelings," I started.

"Bad feelings!" Bird-girl yelled. "You tried to kill me!"

"Well, actuall-"

"And then some freak with silver hair knocked me unconscious! Next thing I know, I'm back here! I think that bad feelings might me a major understatement to what I'm feeling about you right now!"

"Just chill, okay!" I snapped. "I really don't care about your feelings, and Stephanie's isn't a…. Well, you can't just go around insulting people!"

The bird-girl gaped at me. "You've got to be kidding," she muttered under her breath. "You're insane," she said, louder.

I flashed a grin. "Maybe," I admitted. "I haven't actually been diagnosed with anything."

Bird-girls eyes widened.

"Kidding!" I assured her hurriedly, waving my hand whose claws had, thankfully, slid back into my skin.

"What's this about, anyway?"

"First, let me tell you my plans for world domination," I started gleefully, relishing the wrathful expression on bird-girls face. Her hands balled into fists, and I reconsidered taunting her. "I just want to know if _you_ know any other bird-people."

Confusion shone in her eyes before she covered it with anger. "Only some dying, failed avian-human experiments I've seen in the School."

It sounded like she was telling the truth. I decided to try again. "Maybe you've meet a couple of teenagers recently? Maybe a blonde girl with a ridiculous name? Maximum?"

"What?"

"Or maybe a cute boy who looks like he needs anti-depressants? Or caffeine? A blonde kid about fourteen or fifteen? A pair of annoying little kids with light hair and blue eyes? A dark-skinned girl, middle-school age?" I rattled off the list, watching bird-girl as I did so. There didn't seem to be any in recognition her features, she looked positively baffled.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," she said coldly.

"Listen, bird-girl, it's not really very hard. Just tell me if you've seen or talked to any weird kids lately."

"I have a name, you know," she said, ignoring the latter sentence.

"Really?" I queried, "Cause yesterday you swore you didn't."

"Took a cue from you and gave it to myself," she said proudly, "Sapphire."

I shrugged. "Nice."

She gave a smile before she remembered to hate me. "All those kids you described. If I had met them I wouldn't have left. I didn't see or talk to them. Are we done?"

I stared at her for a second before shrugging again and turning around, placing my thumb on the finger-print analysis and exiting the room. I waved to Sapphire before leaving B-block to report that not-success to the scientists.

"So she said she didn't know anything?" It was a tall, imposing female scientist who asked this. She had introduced herself as the Director, and although I had no clue what that meant, I assumed that it was a super-cool semi-mysterious title designed to show that she was the big-bad.

"She didn't say that exactly," I said, holding back a snicker, "She just said she hadn't seen the Maximum girl or her entourage."

The Director ignored my sarcastic remark, and nodded to the other scientist behind her. "I suppose that rules out the option of using the avian hybrid we have here as bait," she murmured. She turned back to me, and her eyes swiftly sized me up. There was an expression in her gaze that unpleasantly reminded me of an Eraser. She gave a thin smile. "Cat-human experiment number 156. Congratulations. You were the first and only one so far to survive past infancy."

What did you say to something like that? "Um, thank you?" I finally said.

"We designed you to be a powerful, yet quick tool in battle."

A tool? Oh, thanks.

"Your partner was designed to be a more subtle, less impulsive variant of an Eraser."

Stephanie. I didn't hear _her_ begin unfairly compared to a piece of hard-ware equipment. Very fair, Ms. Director.

"Your mission have pretty much all been successes. Once again, congratulations." The Director stared at me, and her eyes glistened darkly. "It's time to put your worth to the test."

Oh no. This couldn't be in any way good.

"I want you and your partner to capture Maximum and her friends."


	7. Chapter 7

I couldn't help but release the groan of displeasure that crawled up my throat, or the exclamation of "What?" that came soon after. I think that was the reasonable response.

"I want you and your partner to capture Maximum and her friends," the Director repeated patiently, as if two girls taking down six bird-people was the sanest, most logical thing in the world. She paused. "The littlest girl, she calls herself Angel, can read minds. You need to take that into consideration."

I gaped at her silently.

"The older, blonde boy is blind, so you could possibly try splitting him off from the rest of his friends before capturing," the Director reasoned, "He has incredible hearing though."

She paused, and I tried to process this. "That little girl can read minds?" I asked. "And he's blind? How does he fly? How are we going to capture them all?"

The Director smiled. "Of course I can't send you two alone," she said haughtily.

Oh yay! A partner! Leopard Mara? Dolphin hybrid Penny?

"I believe you are already acquainted."

_He_? Hey, maybe it would be the super awesome, fairly hot Omega!

"The Eraser known as 'Riley'."

Hold on. Not Omega… an Eraser. Eraser… known… as… Riley…. What? I gagged painfully, and my cheeks caught fire. Seriously. I was surprised that the sprinkler system and fire alarms had gone off yet. "But you said Stephanie and I were alternatives to Erasers!" I protested.

"Stephanie is. You're just a unique weapon," the Director reminded me. "But what you both posses in speed and senses, and Stephanie possess in tact, you lack in strength. An Eraser would help fill that gap. This Eraser in particular is far more tempered and less emotionally unstable then most Erasers so far."

I had pretty much gotten that. But… seriously? "Stephanie…" I mumbled under my breath, imaging in graphic detail all the ways she was going to kill me.

The Director probably assumed I was wondering if Stephanie knew about this. "Your partner has been briefed," she told me. "Good day." And then she left. Just like that. The scientist who was with her left as well, patting me on the back.

"Good luck," he told me, before exiting the room and shutting the door behind him.

A _scientist_ was wishing me well? Oh, this mission was defiantly suicide then.

Spewing curses at Maximum, her friends, Stephanie, Riley, the scientists, the Directors, the president, and Antarctica, I walked to my room. And saw something truly terrible. Two backpacks already filled with clothes. Stephanie zipping one up with hasty, but sure fingers. My clothes were in that one.

"What are you doing?" I screeched.

Stephanie winced at the sound of my raised voice, but ignored me, zipping up the other one.

I grabbed the backpack with my clothes and cradled it to my chest. "Are you nuts?" I asked.

"Packing," Stephanie said coolly, "Clothes. To wear."

I slung the backpack over my shoulder, feeling faintly embarrassed. "Right," I mumbled.

Stephanie did the same with her backpack and walked the door, holding it open for me. I stepped through, but looked at her in confusion. "Where are we going?"

Stephanie rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Were leaving."

"Already?" I whined trailing Stephanie as she navigated the School to the entrance.

"Your being a nuisance," Stephanie said, her voice clipped. She thrust open the front door of the School and stepped outside. I followed. "I don't like this any more than you do, but I really don't imagine us having much of a choice here, do you?"

"I guess not."

We turned a corner, meeting up with Eraser Riley. He looked fairly unhappy himself, but that was probably due to the college sweatshirt he was currently wearing.

I laughed at him. "What's that?"

His expression went from unhappy, promptly to miserable. He gestured to Stephanie.

She looked fairly gloomy herself. Geez, what was it about the Director that killed the mood? "Since the Angel girl can read minds, the Director figured that she didn't want anybody around us thinking any suspicious thoughts. So she invented a cover story," Stephanie explain, sounding dismal, "He," she nodded to Riley without looking at him, "Is going to pretend to be a college freshman and I'm going to pretend to be his sister. Both our 'schools' let out for a break." She sounded like she had a hard time getting the words out. "You're going to be my wacky, semi-psychotic best friend who's tagging along."

"Hey! I'm not psychotic!"

Stephanie managed a smile. "Right."

"Really!" I paused, and let my eyes wander to Riley. He seemed to have gotten past his depressed attitude and now looked like he wanted to kill someone. Yay. College freshmen? More like serial killer. Although… I paused, studying him. The Erasers ages were pretty liberal after they stopped developing on hyper-drive. Eighteen or nineteen wasn't really too much of a stretch. An eighteen or nineteen year old with really attractive features, an animalistic smell, and the facial expressions of a mass murderer, but…. Stephanie punched my shoulder and I recoiled, yelping. "What?"

She rolled her eyes and dragged me to the car. "I call shotgun," she warned, shoving me in the backseat.


	8. Chapter 8

"Wait, wait!" I cried, baffled, "Where'd they go?" We had been trailing the bird-kids for a few hours, until they had been chased by some Erasers who were _also_ following them to an entrance of a zoo. Then they had vanished like a slab of meat down the throat of a hungry hyena. Okay, bad analogy, but do you get my drift?

"They must have blended in with the crowd," Riley theorized.

The crowd. A bunch of middle and elementary school kids. Today the zoo was reserved for school field trips only, and only kids could get in. Right now the Erasers were trying to shove through the police officer stationed at the entrance, but it didn't look like they were getting anywhere. Quite the opposite actually. The lead Eraser bared his teeth and spun around, walking away from the zoo with a furious expression on his face.

Huh. No adults at all. An astonishingly stupid plan wormed its way into my thoughts, and I ripped off my backpack, tossing it to Stephanie. She caught it, and stared at me, bewilderment playing dress up with her face. I mused my hair, making sure that my ears were completely covered, and jumped into the crowd.

"Where are you going?" This was Riley.

"Are you nuts?" Stephanie.

"I can get in," I explained, trying to sound reasonable. "But silver hair," I pointed to Stephanie, "And college students aren't going to be let in."

"You can't take down the avian hybrids by yourself." Riley was mimicking my logical voice. Annoyingly, he was doing it better than I had.

"I don't plan too," I called out, reaching the front gate. The zoo worker manning it waved me in without sparing me a second glance. Me being short, that was probably all he needed to assume I was among the school kids. This, from a certain standpoint was vaguely insulting. But it worked.

Once inside, I dashed through throngs of kids gawking at the animals, looking for a group of half-a-dozen, really tall, really thin kids. I turned the corner, and oh. There they were. Well, two of them. It was the cute, dark haired one and the mean looking one. They were sitting down on a bench, and the girl was wincing slightly, as if she had a bad headache, but didn't want to show it. She was talking with the boy in a low voice. It was my time to shine! Sort of. I skipped lightly over to them, and they looked up at me, equal expressions of annoyance and confusion on their faces.

I plastered a big, bright smile on my face and asked in my sweetest, most open voice that I could muster, "Can I sit down?"

The girl, Maximum looked at me with obvious suspicion, but the cute boy looked nonchalant. He gripped Maximum's shoulder, and whispered in her ear, in a voice so soft that it was a challenge to hear, even with my enhanced ears. "It's alright, Max, there's no way _she's_ one of them." I assumed that by 'she' he meant me, and by 'them' he meant the Erasers and the School. Hah ha, how wrong he was! But my small build and innocent face had a habit of making people think that I was guiltless. Except when people knew me. Then they always blamed me.

Finally, the Max girl nodded slightly, and scooted over a bit so I could sit down. I forced a grin of thanks to my face, although what I really wanted to do was gut her with my claws that were itching to burst from my skin. The smile must have looked sincere enough, and she gave me a nod in return, the distrust and coldness on her face thawing slightly. She promptly forgot I existed and turned back to the boy, and they resumed their earlier conversation. I glanced around and spotted the other bird-kids. They were playing and talking to each other, nothing very exciting.

Suddenly, the Max girl and the boy stood up. It was my instinct to follow them up, and it took all my willpower to remain to sitting. The rest of the group ran over and they formed a huddle, talking among themselves. I glimpsed the fair haired little girl. Lovely. The mind-reader. Psychic-kid froze and twisted around, zooming in on me.

Max looked over as well, and her eyes narrowed. "What is it, Angel?"

Angel's eyes were wide with fear and I grinned evilly as she said, "She knows, Max. About me. She knows that I can read minds."

Oh, it's not like I'm from the School or anything, I thought sarcastically.

"She's from the School!" Angel gasped, then cried out and clutched her head as I started blasting song lyrics from memory at top thought-sound.

"What is it?" Max asked, concerned, wrapping her arms around the little girl.

"Her thoughts hurt," Angel said her tone accusing and belligerent.

Max glared at me, and if looks could kill…. "What did you do to her?" she demanded, snarling.

"Nothing!" I yelped, throwing my hands into the air.

"Are you an Eraser?"

"Of course not," I said, offended, "Do I look like one to you?"

Once again, Max's eyes ran over my petite figure. It really goes to show how deceiving appearances can be.

The boy rested his hand on Max's shoulder. "She could help us," he reasoned.

"Sorry," I said cheerfully, "I've already got, um, friends."

Max glanced at the boy, "Fang," she said.

Fang ignored her. "These friends. Are they from the school?"

I folded my arms across my chest. "Not telling," I said stubbornly, my lip pouting out.

His expression remained unchanged. "We already know you are," he said indifferently. "Are you like us?"

"Sort of," I said, vaguely insulted that they thought I was part bird. I pushed back my hair, revealing my ears. "I'm part cat."

Max grinned.

"You should come with us," Fang offered, "You and your friends, too. We're trying to find out about our pasts. Don't you want to?"

Did I? I'd never really thought about it before. "Nope," I decided, smiling lightly, "I don't care about my past."

"Alright." Fang didn't seem upset. Did he have any emotions at all? Maybe he was a robot-bird-boy. He placed his hand on Max's shoulder again and the bird-kids left, slowly. The younger ones kept glancing back at me, as if I was one of the oddities from the zoo. I stared at them until they disappeared from my vision, then I turned around, preparing to leave myself.

An Eraser blocked my path and I took a hasty half-step, half-jump backwards. "I guess one of them managed to get in after all," I mumbled, fear shooting through my system like electricity.

He loomed closer, and I darted back another few steps. "Are you with them?"

"Who?" I asked, deciding that my best policy would probably be to act like a typical, frightened kid. Not very hard.

The Eraser frowned. "Where did they go?"

"I don't know!" I cried, forcing extra panic into my voice. "I just sat down with them, and then they left."

He smiled, an expression that didn't reach his eyes. "Maybe you're lying," he cooed, "Maybe I should kill you and see if they care."

No. Way. This was not part of the plan. I really didn't want to die in a _zoo_. Realizing I had no other option, I unsheathed my claws and watched as the Eraser's face reflected triumph. He began to morph out, and I swore, snaking around behind him and slicing at his throat. It was only a shallow wound, and he growled, now fully morphed, his own claws out and ready. I grimaced.

The Eraser snarled and ran forward, slicing at me with huge and lethal claws. Ducking and dodging, I swore as one grazed the side of my arm, and I leapt backwards, covering the wound with my opposite hand. Flexing my claws and remembering the Directors words on how I was nothing more than a weapon, I grinned. She wanted a weapon? I would give her a weapon! I ran forward, pushing my legs as fast as they would go and jumped into the air. The Eraser only had time to look up, startled, before I landed directly on top of him, causing him to topple to the ground. He screamed, and lashed out, his claws cutting into my forearm. Howling in pain myself, I plunged my fingers through his chest, putting as much force behind them as I could. The razor-sharpness of my claws did the rest. The Eraser gagged, and then went limp, and I quickly jumped to the side wiping my claws clean on his jacket before I raced off. This was going to be really hard to explain to the Director. Oops.


	9. Chapter 9

"You did what?" it was Stephanie who asked the question, her eyes bulging out. We were sitting in the hotel room she had chosen.

"Jeez," I mumbled, embarrassment coloring my cheeks. "Don't hold back or anything. Tell me how you really feel."

"I am!" Stephanie seemed immune to sarcasm. "I feel like you were a gigantic idiot!"

"Hmm," Riley said, nodding his agreement, his eyes glowing dangerously. "That was rather rash of you."

"You're all picking on me!" I accused.

Stephanie's eyes flashed, the gold in them very prominent. She hissed, then sighed. "You could have easily been killed."

"That's right," Riley stated, grimacing. "Not only that, but if the other Eraser's from his team saw you, they'll probably hunt you down and kill you."

"What?" I gasped, my eyes widening with shock. Not good. At all. Vengeful Erasers were just about the worst thing on earth, apart from an enraged Stephanie.

"Well," Riley, said, reconsidering, the red light in his eyes fading, "If they didn't see you, and you didn't leave anything of yours near the body, they won't be able to track you."

"What things do you mean?" I asked carefully.

"Fabric from your clothing, hair. Blood," he added, grinning.

Blood. "Hell," I swore, instinctively gripping my arm where the Eraser had slashed it with his claws. I was sure that some of it was probably on his clothes and claws. "He cut me," I reluctantly admitted.

Both Stephanie and Riley froze at once. She looked like she was debating on hugging or punching me, and he looked like he was having a hard time remaining in human form. His eyes were bright red, hers bright gold. In the recent darkness that had taken over the room after sunset, it was quite an eerie sight.

"We'll back you up," Riley finally said, and Stephanie nodded her assent. Doom feels funny in your tummy, although I was sort of touched that they'd help me. Sort of.

"Maybe if they see you're an Eraser, they'll get that we're not a threat to them."

"Maybe." But he didn't look to hopeful.

"On the more pleasant note, I found Maximum," I said, trying to act cheerful.

"That's good," Stephanie mumbled, "A consolation prize."

"Hey!" I cried, then added, "She thinks I escaped from the school."

A slow, wide smile crept up Riley's face. "We can use you to trap them."

Stephanie and I both grinned simultaneously. "Exactly," we said together, and I laughed.


	10. Chapter 10

A.N. Yes, I am fully aware that this chapter would fall under the category of 'really weird'. So I apologize in advance. This chapter has some Stephanie/Kitty Kitty/Riley Riley/Fang, but none of it is really serious… so….

"I'm really tired," I murmured drowsily. My tongue felt thick and my eyelids seemed to weigh a thousand pounds. Stephanie was already asleep on the opposite couch. There were only two beds, and although Stephanie had elected to sleep on the couch the first couple of nights, she had made it very clear that this sacrifice would only last so long. It would probably be me sleeping on the couch tomorrow.

On the other side of the sofa, I could see that Riley was resisting the urge to beat me within an inch of my life. "Then maybe you should go to sleep," he suggested testily. Well, I was too lazy to move from the couch to the bed. Personally, I thought he didn't sound all to alert himself, like he too was fighting unconsciousness tooth and nail. Or fangs and claw. Whatever.

I tried to voice this, "You sound like you need sleep too," I attempted to say, but since my voice had not graced me with its company for quite some time, my words came out as a jumbled up stream of vowels and consonants.

"What about Maximum Ride?" Riley muttered, and by the sound of his voice he was getting sleepier by the second.

I was about to inform him that I had not, in fact, said anything about Maximum, and that he might as well admit that was just as tired as I was, but I remembered something that I had wanted to ask him. I sat up slightly, and pinched myself to try and avoid the alluring blanket of sleep that was threatening to smother me. A bit more awake I said, "Why do you Erasers hate bird-people so much?" They really seemed to. I mean, it wasn't as if Erasers didn't hate things that _weren't_ part bird, it just seemed like they had special reserves of loathing for people with wings.

"What?" Riley struggled to sit up as well, and I watched as he gradually grew more alert and processed what I had just said. His eyes flickered red, and for a split second I wondered if I shouldn't have asked the question, but when the red didn't return I allowed myself to relax.

"Do I need to repeat the question?" I asked sweetly.

"No." He groaned and leaned his head back against the top of the sofa. With my super-night-vision that came from being part cat, I could see every contour of his face and neck. Yes, he was really hot. Feeling a familiar flush crawling up to my cheeks I averted my gaze, staring at the sleeping Stephanie instead. She was pretty too. Especially sleeping, when her face was peaceful and she wasn't screaming at me for being a hyper idiot. Feeling normal again, I looked back at Riley. "I don't hate them," he murmured, and paused before continuing, "I guess I envy them."

Okay. That was rather unexpected. A part of me wanted to laugh at Riley, but another part marveled at the note of… vulnerability… in his voice. "Why?" I asked softly.

He sighed and his eyes slipped shut. "I dunno exactly," he mumbled, his voice slurring. I guessed that he was only sharing this because he wasn't quite awake. Yet. I supposed it was only a matter of time before he woke up fully and killed me, or fell completely asleep. While I was musing he continued, "I suppose it's because they're special, supposed to save the world or whatever…," he trailed off for a second and blinked, "We're just disposable weapons." He closed his eyes again, and for a second I assumed he was asleep, but he spoke up after a while. "A lot like you."

"Huh?"

"You're a weapon, too," he sighed without opening his eyes, "But you've probably got a longer life ahead of you then most Erasers. Not incredibly long, though…." His voice trailed off entirely, and I realized with a start that he was finally asleep. Well. That was depressing. And also a little wasteful- after all, if he could fall asleep so easily on the couch, Stephanie probably could have slept on one of the beds, after all. Eraser jerk. I sighed and dragged myself from the couch and pulled myself forward until I practically fell on top of the bed. Kicking off my shoes I rolled over so that I was in no danger of painfully falling off in the middle of the night and wormed my way under the comforter and sheets. Nice and cozy warm. Resting my head on the pillow, I fell asleep almost instantly.

_I had funny dreams. I guessed that my dream was a dream, but since I was dreaming I quickly forgot. I was standing in a meadow filled with silver colored grass that waved in the wind like strands of hair. Then, with a start of surprise I realized that it _was_ hair. Stephanie was lying down in the center of the field, her hair, which had magically grown a hundred times its size, billowing all around her. I ran over. _

"_Stephanie!" I called, and my voice sounded odd, echoing and distorting._

_Stephanie looked up, her eyes opening. "Bend down," she ordered._

_I bent down, so that my knees sank into her hair and my face was directly over hers. "Why are you lying down?" I asked, and a nervous chill gripped my stomach. "You have to get up. It's coming."_

"_Bend down," Stephanie ordered, and I lowered my head. My lips brushed against hers and they tasted of blood. "I can't get up," Stephanie explained, her voice low and calm._

"_Why not? You have to!"_

"_I can't," she repeated, "I have to protect you. From it. It's already here, you see. It's been hiding."_

_I stood up, horrified. Stephanie's silver hair slowly turned red as blood began to seep through. The blood began to take a shape, gurgling and foaming until it solidified. I didn't want to see the shape it would take, so I turned away, preparing to run. Angel blocked my path, holdings Max's hand. They both wore girlish nightgowns, and their wings were spread behind them, their feather's glistening with dripping blood. _

"_You can't leave," Angel said, "You really can't. I've seen this, see. I know you can't." She giggled and began to babble incoherently._

_Max's face was refreshingly serious, lacking in the insanity that Angel was now displaying. "We have to leave soon," she explained, "But you can't, you have to stay." They took off, flying into the sky._

_Why did I have to stay? Already, I could hear heavy footfalls behind me. I ran. After a few minutes, another figure blocked my path. Riley. His eyes were red, and Fang's were too, as he stepped into my vision and slung his arm over Riley' shoulder. They both smiled at me, hungry smiles filled with fangs and sharp teeth. "They said you couldn't go," Fang said, still smiling that disturbing smile. He spread out pitch-black wings, and flew off suddenly, leaving me with Riley._

"_They did say that," Riley told me._

"_Why can't I go?" I asked, "I have too. I have to run."_

"_You can't." he grinned and stepped closer._

"_Why not?" I screamed, my tail coming loose, my ears standing up, and my claws unsheathing._

"_Because it's your fault," he laughed, brushing my hair back with his finger. "It's all your fault." A sound from behind startled me, and I twisted around, alarmed. _

"_Riley?" I asked, turning back around and looking for him, but he was gone._

_I turned back. It was here. And it was… me. It smiled my pointy tooted smile with my mouth. Its eyes were dark purple, like mine, and its ears were like mine too. It was short and slender like me, with short messy blonde hair, and reflective claws and a cream colored tail. It had my face, too. It wore my clothes. It was _me_. It continued to smile, dancing forward until we were only an arm's length apart._

"_You can fight me," it said. "Do you want to?"_

"_Do I have too?"_

_It paused, a thoughtful expression crossing its face. "It's what they want you to do," it said at last, "It's what they'll expect. But you don't _have_ to fight me. No." A pause and a slow smile. "Do you want to?"_

_Did I? It was evil, after all, and I had the feeling I needed to fight it… but I didn't want to fight myself. And I was rather sick of obeying orders. "No," I told it, "I don't want to fight you."_

_It smiled like I had given it the right answer and stepping closer, embracing me. "That's good," it said, "And more people will die." There was a sadistic edge to its voice as it continued, "That's good too." I was about to tell it that people dying was definitely _not_ good, but I found that I couldn't. It stepped back, and its eyes flashed with pleasure. Then it pressed its lips to mine and I felt myself drain away until I was it. And it was _me_. _

I woke up with a start, staring into the concerned faces of Riley and Stephanie. My heart felt like it was trying to kill itself, and I sucked in big gulps of air.

"What was that?" Stephanie asked, "You were tossing and turning all night."

I paused. "Only a dream," I smiled, and then frowned. "I hope."


	11. Chapter 11

A.N. Thx for the reviews! XD

That had been a really weird dream. _Really_ weird. What was my subconscious trying to tell me, I was secretly evil? Or had multiple personality disorder? Maybe that Angel was insane, or Fang was an Eraser. Or that Stephanie shouldn't grow her hair a hundred feet long. Well, whatever, I thought to myself, yanking a pale lavender t-shirt down over my head and bending down to tie my shoes. It was only a stupid dream. I promptly decided that I couldn't care less if I was secretly evil and walked out of the bathroom, messing up my hair so that my ears were completely covered. Stephanie groaned as I closed the door behind me.

"That wasn't long at all," she said sarcastically. Fortunately, she's sort of bad at sarcasm, and that diluted the effect of her words. Her hair was brushed and silky, pulled back into a ponytail.

"You look nice," I informed her.

She frowned at me, probably wondering if I was being serious. "Whatever," she decided, "Just remember that Angel can read minds and don't think anything revealing or stupid, okay?" Then she apparently realized what a pointless endeavor that was and let her head drop briefly into her hand. "Just try not to mess this to badly up," she mumbled through her fingers.

I grinned and glanced at Riley. "Hey, if I screw it up we can just dispense with the deception and-"

"No," Riley interrupted, looking a little queasy, "Just do what Stephanie says. We don't want to take our chances in a fight."

"Wimps," I muttered, but two hours later I found myself following Stephanie's orders. Three members of the flock, Angel, Max and Fang stood in front of me and Stephanie, the other three watching suspiciously from underneath a large sign. Riley was nearby… probably… but unfortunately I apparently had not quite gotten the full trust of the bird-kids yet, so it would be near-to-impossible to capture them today. Angel was looking at me with a big frown on her face, and just to see if she was in my mind I thought: there's an Eraser behind you. No reaction. Yay! I allowed myself to relax somewhat.

"Is this your friend?" Max asked me. She was looking curiously at Stephanie.

"Yep!" I smiled widely and slapped Stephanie on the back. Stephanie shot me a death-glare. Well, at least she would get along with Max. "Her name is-"

"I'm Stephanie," Stephanie interrupted quickly.

"And you're from the School." This wasn't really question, but Max in all her suspicious annoyingness voiced it anyway.

"That's right," Stephanie replied.

Max waited.

"What?"

"Are you part bird, like us," she gestured to herself and the rest of her friends, "Or are you part cat like your friend?"

Stephanie looked horrified. "Part cat, like Kitty?" she gagged. "No! WAY!" she drew in a deep breath of air and closed her eyes. When she opened them again she looked calmer. "I'm part dog," she said hotly.

Max snickered. "You guys don't get along?" she guessed.

"No." We said at the same time. "Well," Stephanie added as an afterthought, "We've been together forever. We're pretty close."

"Huh." Max looked at us with a new respect in her eyes. Where did that come from? "Me and the flock are like family, too."

"Yeah," I mumbled.

"You could join us," she said eagerly, basically repeating what Fang had said yesterday. "We could really use you-"

"There's an Eraser behind you!" I yelped.

All three of them twisted around, startled, and Stephanie took the opportunity to sock me in the gut. I doubled over, wheezing. "What was that for?"

"This is your fault," she hissed in my ear. "You just had to kill that Eraser, didn't you?"

"Yes!" I coughed, trying to stand up. The Eraser's eyes were trained on us, but he wasn't moving, yet. "I wasn't going to just stand there and be killed!" I paused, considering; "Besides," I said, louder, "It's probably their fault. Bird-kids equal special."

Max stared at both of us, renewed suspicion flaring in her eyes. "I hope you both know how to fight," she said, "Because he's got company." It was true. The rest of the Eraser's pack had formed around him. Two men, one woman. They began to stalk forward. The three other kids ran over, tension lining their faces.

"What should we do?" the girl who I didn't have a name for asked.

"We fight," Max said grimly, and I had to give her some credit. She was fearless. She looked over at the blind kid and the littlest boy. "You two need to go."

They both looked like they wanted to complain, but Max said again, more forcefully, "GO!" and they darted off. "Angel," Max said, "You might want to go to."

"No," Angel said, "You're going to need my help."

The four Erasers were almost on top of us. I unsheathed my claws, my ears and tail prickling unpleasantly, and watched as Stephanie's eyes shifted to a color that was nearly pure gold. "Ready?" I murmured.

She gave a tight nod. The Erasers came on us. Max and the other girl held their own against one, while Fang was trying his best not to get clawed to death. I leapt into the air over one Eraser and Stephanie snarled, tackling her to the ground.

"Go to sleep," Angel said, and the Eraser that Stephanie had been fighting collapsed unconscious. The other bird-kids weren't doing much better. Fang was bleeding on the ground, and it was all the other girl could do to contain the Erasers they were currently engaged with. One of the Erasers beating up Fang suddenly jumped out at me and I cried out as his claws grazed my healing arm, reopening the old wounds. I fell to the ground, watching as the Eraser loomed closer, his fangs bared in a grotesque grin. Suddenly my skin burned and a sort of ecstasy seized me. I grinned back and jumped up. I felt pumped full of energy. All pain and fear had vanished. I ran at the Eraser, and his attacks seemed clumsy and slow, ridiculously easy to dodge. In comparison I felt as quick as a bullet, my claws lethal extensions of my fingers (which, technically, they were) as I sliced at his skin. Twisting around to avoid becoming speared, I flung myself forward and plunged my claws into his chest. He grunted and toppled over falling gracelessly. The strange energy that had momentarily possessed me vanished and I suddenly felt winded, like I had run a marathon. From the corner of my eye I noticed Riley. He caught my gaze, and nodded to the two remaining Erasers. I guessed he was wondering if he should help. I shook my head, mouthing "no", and he grimaced, looking uncomfortable, but nodded to show he understood. I looked back at the bird-kids. The two older girls had finished off their Erasers, and had turned to help Stephanie and Fang take care of the last one. It was over relatively quickly. Max pulled back, assessing the damage. Breathing deeply, she asked, "Everyone okay?"

"I little cut up, but yeah," that was Fang.

"Same here," I said and Stephanie and the other girl both nodded.

"Good," Max said, then turned around, noticing Riley for the first time. I froze, but she merely gaze him a cursory glance, before asking "What are you looking at?" I relaxed. She had, thankfully, assumed that he was a college student and not an Eraser. Well, that was understandable. He hadn't attacked with the others. I smirked.

Me and Stephanie departed shortly after, but promised Max that we'd remain in touch. I'd given her our hotel number and cell phone number, though I wasn't quite sure if she'd use either one.

Neither Stephanie nor Riley looked to great, so I asked "What's wrong?"

Riley shrugged, "Fell a bit bad for leaving you two on your own."

"No biggie," I grinned, "If you'd helped, that would have messed up _everything_."

He nodded.

"How about you, Stephanie?"

She shrugged. "It just feels weird, now that we've fought with them."

My face was a question mark that she answered with "I don't know how I feel about bringing them in, is all. Now that we know them."

I shrugged. "It doesn't matter. We've got a job to do. And not one we can say no to."

She nodded, but still looked unconvinced. "I know."


	12. Chapter 12

A.N. I've decided, that, to avoid any at all possible suspicions that Kitty is a Mary Sue, I'm going to up her evil. She's going to betray Stephanie, kill Max, seduce Fang and then attempt to kill him, manipulate the Flock, and develop an incredibly kinky relationship with both Riley and Stephanie (you know, before she kills her). Everyone will hate her, and her cuteness will no longer be affective. Haha, I'm totally joking. Hehe. XD

"I wanna go to the beach?"

Stephanie and Riley groaned in impressive synchronization.

"Now?" Riley asked, rather wearily. "It's nearly midnight."

"Wolves like the night," I retorted cheekily. "And I've been _so_ incredibly bored. It's been _days_ since we last saw Max, and we've just been cooped up in the hotel, waiting for her to call. Sorry to burst your bubble of hope, but I don't think she will."

"But, still," Stephanie sputtered, "The _beach_?"

"Yep!"

Riley's fingers twitched slightly, like he was looking forward for the opportunity to strangle me. But when he spoke, his words surprised me. "Fine," he said curtly.

I raised my eyebrows, while Stephanie looked livid.

"What?" she growled dangerously.

Riley shrugged. "Better than sitting here, I suppose," he mumbled, his cheeks reddening visibly.

"You're both insane," Stephanie declared, then added, "I'm going to stay here."

"Yay!" I cried, then paused, "I mean, it's a shame you can't come…"

"Save it," Stephanie said.

About an hour later, Riley and I were walking down the beach. Minus the unfriendly Eraser reluctantly trudging along beside me, it was actually a very pretty beach, with fine white sand that glistened in the starlight and soft waves lapping gently against the shore. But… sort of boring, too. I fought the urge to stop and close my eyes.

I felt a hand tug on the back of my shirt, and turned around, expecting Riley to drag me back to the car. "What?" I complained, trying to stifle the yawn that threatened to enter my voice.

Riley wasn't looking at me. His eyes were fixed on a dark mound in the distance. "Is that… Maximum Ride?"

I focused in on the dark mound, and sniffed the air. There was a scent that reminded me slightly of Max's, and also…. I ran forward, Riley jogging after me.

Closer now, I could see that it was indeed Maximum. And her friends. I poked her shoulder, and she jumped up, into a fighting stance. She had gotten a haircut. It looked good.

I backed up and raised my hands. "Whoa. Relax. It's me, remember? Kitty?"

Max grimaced, but allowed herself to relax. "Ah, hey Kitty. Sorry, you startled me. It's nice to run into you and-" she paused midsentence, her eyes jumping from me to Riley. "Who's he?"

Oops. I had all but forgotten about Riley. I considered knocking Max unconscious, but decided against it. The rest of the flock would probably wake up at the sound of a struggle.

I looked back at Max and saw her eyes running up and down his body, analyzing him. Undoubtedly, she was recognizing him from the fight earlier, reexamining him, noticing his attractiveness, sleekness and athletic build. I inferred that it wasn't long before she added two and two and got four.

"He's-" Max started to grind out.

"An Eraser?" a voice from behind us offered. "Yeah. Nice deductive skills, Max."

I spun around. An Eraser was behind us, and surrounding us… I gulped. Were more Erasers. Much, much more. I had to give them credit, they were stealthy. Like… ninja's. Damn. I guess Max was a foul-mouthed pirate, then. I wondered which I was.

"Ari?" Max choked out, staring at the Eraser in front of us. Behind her, her friends were waking up and rubbing sleep from their eyes.

"What?" asked the second-oldest.

"Nudge," Fang warned, standing up. Nudge. I guessed that was her name, then.

The Eraser Max had called Ari grinned. "Miss me?" he asked playfully.

"You!" Max spat, glancing back and forth between Ari and Riley. Surprisingly, she tried to shove me behind her. When I resisted, she looked at me in confusion. "What are you doing?" she asked, "He's an Eraser!"

"You mean Ari?" I asked, feigning cluelessness. Well… I was a bit confused already.

"No… the other one?"

"Riley then." I grinned at her.

Comprehension dawned in her eyes. "Your with them…." She said, taking a step back.

I laughed at her. Mean, maybe, but I wasn't going to beg her forgiveness. I had pride, you know? "Took you long enough," I sneered. "Seriously. Did you really think your luck was that good? Run away from the School, only to find some other hybrids, also escaped from the School? Jeez."

Ari walked up and slung his arm around my shoulders. I resisted the urge to flinch away. He was cruel, I could tell. There was something in his eyes, a hint of madness mixed in with ruthlessness. "I like you!" he exclaimed. I guess I had one his approval by insulting Max. Great. He turned his attention back to Max. "Don't trust anyone," he told her, as if confiding a great secret. He lowered his voice. "Your all alone."

"No…." it was Nudge who spoke. "Kitty is good. She help us fight the other Erasers. Why would she do that if she was working for you?"

Ari laughed. "Kitty's one of us! But her mission wasn't to kill you, it was to bring you in, alive. If those Eraser's killed you, she would have failed in her mission. Well," he glanced slyly at Riley. "Their mission. And the mission of a silvered haired dog."

I bristled a bit a Stephanie being called a dog, but laughed along with Ari. "Can I capture them now?" I begged.

"No." This was yet another voice. I turned around, and watched as a middle-aged man emerged from the mass of Erasers.

"Jeb." Max growled, low and deep.

"Max," he smiled. He waved the Erasers away. "You can go," he instructed, looking at me.

I darted off, pulling Riley's hand anxious to leave. From behind me I heard raised voices, but didn't spare them much attention.

Riley and I sprinted down the length of the beach, only stopping when we reached the car. "What exactly was that?" I asked, baffled.

Riley studied me. "I'm not sure," he admitted.

I yawned. "I'm sleepy."

Riley rolled his eyes.

"Who was Ari?"

Riley's expression hardened. "An Eraser who used to be human."

"He hates Max?"

"He does. He loves her too."

I snorted. "He has an odd way of showing it."

Riley's eyes locked on mine. "Maybe."


	13. Chapter 13

A.N. I don't know what I'm going to do with Riley… friend… or more? Same deal with Stephanie…. And Fang…. And maybe even Max if I get really evil, but both Fang and Max hate Kitty… so….

"Chess!"

"No… Italy."

Stephanie snickered, but the sound was bored and flat, rehearsed. We had been doing nothing but lazing around the hotel room since the fateful (and sucky) encounter with Max and Ari at the beach.

"I win again," Riley informed me, unenthusiastically. "Want to play again?"

I glowered at him. "I've lost more than half of these stupid 'Twenty Question' games." I redirected my attention to the ceiling, allowing myself to fall back onto the bed.

"So I guess that's a 'no', then," Riley mumbled under his breath.

"No shit Sherlock," I responded, but the sting of the insult was missing. I yawned involuntarily. "Anything good on TV?" I asked the channel surfing Stephanie.

"Absolutely nothing," she answered without missing a beat. Well, I had been asking her the same question now every ten or so minutes. And she had given me the same answer. "Some awful slasher film is on one station, and some sappy chick flick is on the other. Any interest?"

I made a face. "Horror films are gross, just like sappy films. None."

"I second that," Riley said, at the same time Stephanie said, "No kidding."

"Maybe we could try to find Max again," I suggested wearily.

"Not going to happen any time soon," Riley admitted, "I haven't gotten any new leads."

Stephanie crawled over to my side of the bed, sitting cross-legged pretzel style. I sighed melodramatically and lay my head in her lap. "I'm sleepy," I notified her primly.

She shook her head. "You always are," she muttered.

A loud, insistent sound blared from Riley's pocket, and he reached inside, taking out a sleek, silver cell phone.

"Shiny," I mumbled.

He glanced at it for a second, but didn't seem to admire its sheen as I did. The ring came again, and he quickly open it, and place it to his ear. "This is Riley." A pause, and his eyes darted between me a Stephanie. "Uh-huh. They are." His feature's hardened noticeably. "Understood. Right away." He stood up, and his eyes glinted, and trace of tiredness gone.

Stephanie and I stood up as well.

"What is it?" she asked.

Riley snapped the phone shut. "It's Ari," he revealed, frowning, "He's missing. He was last heard under the Institute of Higher living on Max's trial."

"Under?" Stephanie asked.

"Sewers."

I had heard of the Institute, but hadn't known it was in New York. No wonder Max and her guys had decided to take a vacation here. "I guess that means we have to help him," I mumbled. I wasn't too eager to help a homicidal maniac with werewolf powers and a lust for Max's blood and (apparently) a love for her, too, even if that same maniac was semi-fond of me (or seemed to be, anyhow).

Riley didn't look all too thrilled with the assignment either, but he responded, "Guess we do."

A mere five minutes later and we were under the Institute of Higher Living. The sewers were slimy and gross, and every few second I felt the warm heat of small mammals somewhere by my feet, and heard tiny claws hitting against wet concrete.

After a few minutes, a particularly disgusting scent momentarily overwhelmed my senses, and I gagged, repulsed. It smelled of violence and pain and Eraser and, most prominently, blood. I whimper, and instinctively clutched the nearest person.

Riley glanced down at me in surprise. "What is it?" he asked, not unkindly. The heat coming from his body, the closeness of him, was comforting.

"I think he's close," I answered, trying to keep the fear out of my voice. He nodded slightly, and we rounded the corner.

Stephanie made a muffled sound in the back of her throat.

The walls of the sewer were smeared with blood, and ahead, were the sewer rose into the surface to reveal light, a figure was slumped on the ground, probably unconscious. Directly in front of us, though, was the most horrifying thing. Ari lay, half on the concrete that passed as land, and half in the dirty water. His neck was bent at an impossible angle, and his skin was slowly draining of color.

Gingerly, I walked up to him, and bent forward, staring at his slack face. "Ari?" I whispered. My eyes wandered to his neck, and I promptly felt like puking. A hand pressed against the back of my neck, and from behind me, Riley said, "You can leave if you want." His words were soft. "I'm going to phone the School." On cue, he took out his cell and began to dial a string of numbers.

"Come on, Kitty," Stephanie said, coming from behind me and pulling me to the exit of the tunnel, "It's okay. Let's check on that man, alright?" Her words were soft, too, and soothing. I was immediately embarrassed, both Stephanie and Riley had seen me weak, but I nodded nonetheless and we walked to the man on the ground.

As Stephanie checked his pulse, and confirmed that he was alive, I noted with a jolt of surprise that I knew him. It took me a while to place his face, but then I remembered. "It's Jeb, from the beach," I told Stephanie quietly.

Riley closed his cell phone, apparently the conversation with the School was over, and we waited a few minutes, before scientists and Erasers, dressed smartly in inconspicuous suits had swarmed the tunnel. They had carted Jeb off, and were busy carefully positing Ari on a Stretcher and doing painful-looking, medical things to him. They asked Riley some short questions, then moved on, leaving us to our own devices. We walked up to the street. Or, at least, Riley and I did, Stephanie was called back to help with who-knows-what.

I shot an awkward glance at Riley. "I'm sorry," I mumbled.

He frowned. "Did you do something I'm not aware of?" his tone was teasing.

"No…," I paused, wringing my hands helplessly, "I'm just… sorry." I paused again, then threw my arms around him in a sloppy embrace. "Sorry," I mumbled, this time out of embarrassment.

He laughed, and put his arms around me. "It's alright," he reassured me.

I released him, blushing, and resisted the urge to apologize again.

He grinned. "Want to play 'Twenty Questions'?" he asked.

I gave a grin back, a shaky grin, maybe, but I still managed a smile. "Hell yeah!" I exclaimed, "and this time," I boasted, "I'm totally going to win!"

He snickered.


	14. Chapter 14

After our unfortunate incident with Ari, who, by the way, was still alive, and now the upgraded version, fashioned with his own sparkly pair of pixie attach-with-caution wings and everything, the School had decided to temporarily allow us back into their clubhouse. Stephanie and I had hung out for a few weeks, grounded and annoyed. The scientists had shown us, or rather, me, since Stephanie was feeling more anti-social and Ms. Grouchy Bear lately around, and they actually had some cool stuff on hand this go around. A freaky Max clone in the making, some hybrid who was part Eraser, part something else scaly and lizardly, and a big new, shiny gym where the scientists encouraged me to work out in, but I decided to stay and hang out with Stephanie and Riley instead. Unfortunately, spending time with Riley meant that I would also be spending a lot of time in the gym, since he actually seemed to follow the scientists instructions regarding that particular issue. Not that watching Riley lift, like, over two million pounds wasn't super-dooper exciting, it was actually sort of gratifying in a way that made my hormones very, very pleased. All sorts of dirty thoughts whirling about, I tried to hold up my poker face with varying success. Every other hour Riley would catch my expression and look at me funny, but apart from that…. Well.

"Well."

"Well, what?" Riley asked, walking over covered in sweat. Ew. I tossed him a towel and he plucked it from the air, moping his forehead. "Thanks. Here, pass me the water." I threw it to him and he opened it, taking a big gulp that drained more than half of the thing. I scooted over and he sat down next to me.

"Well what?" I asked, and he sighed.

"You know, Kitty…."

"Yeah?" I asked, imagining that he was going to start lecturing me on rudeness.

"Have you seen Ari?"

"I've seen him. Him and his new fancy squad of flying dorks. Seriously. They can't fly. It's like… they way they fly, it makes you sort of want to wince and turn away." They had left around a month ago to pursue Max and her cohorts.

Riley laughed, "But instead you laugh behind your hand, am I right?"

"You know me so well," I teased.

"You bet I do. I'll never trust you around me, that's for sure. Your pretty face covers an evil heart."

I ignored the evil heart crack. I'd heard that before. "Hey," I realized, "You think I'm pretty?"

Riley suddenly became very absorbed in drinking some more water.

"Well," I began grandly, "You're sort of pretty, too."

"I'm an Eraser," he said, "We're designed to be 'pretty'. Lower defenses and all that."

"Maybe," I relented, then added, "But I don't think those other Erasers are 'pretty'. They just freak me out. You… you're… nicer, I guess."

"Nicer." He laughed humorlessly.

"Yeah," I defended, "Compared to the rest of them, I mean. All they ever do is bully people and threaten to rip them to shreds. But I can actually have a conversation with you. And trust me; anyone who can go through a conversation with me without threatening bodily harm on me has remarkable self-control."

"Maybe you're so starved for conversation after all these years at the School that you'd think having a conversation with an Eraser is next to normal."

"Odd, isn't it?" I said with a frown, but I was still secretly delighted that he found me pretty. I wanted to do a touchdown dance. And kiss him. And possibly scream at the top of my lungs.

He grinned. "You know, I don't think I've ever actually fully-morphed on you."

"Only half," I agreed.

"Hm."

"Wanna bond over how much we hate Maximum Ride?" I asked.

"There's an idea."

I sighed, and he began to get up. Wait, my beautiful moment! Shattered. No! I reached over and pressed my hand on his chest. "Wait," I begged, "Don't leave; you're my only connection to sanity." I shuffled over.

He raised an eyebrow but sat down nevertheless. I was now pressed to his side, my hands on his chest. Stephanie would torture me. Then film it, post it on the web, and show it to me. And again. And probably a third time, too. Too bad.

Riley gave me a curious look, and then wrapped his hands around my wrists. "You know you're sort of squishing me," he began.

"I doubt it." I scuttled even closer, grinning. We were suddenly pressed very close together, our faces a few inches apart. I blinked. Should I lean in closer? Or pull back? It turned out I didn't have to worry. Riley leaned in and kissed me. It was very nice, and as it began to heat up, I pulled myself over him, wrapping my arms around his neck, and felt his arms curl around my waist. Tiny jolts of electricity zinging through me, our kisses deepened and I heard him growl, low in his throat. We both froze, and then pulled away. I jumped off of him, and he stood up. His eyes were red, but he hardly looked angry. I wondered they were like that on lust. Creepy.

"What just happened?" I asked.

"I think…," he frowned, trying to puzzle it through, "I kissed you, and then you kissed me back. Am I right?"

"Something like that." I glanced at him, and added honestly, "It wasn't bad. Actually, it was really nice." I smiled.

And that was when the door burst open. But it wasn't Stephanie standing there, but a scientist. "We have a new assignment."


End file.
